Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.  Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.  Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.   Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

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In this last of the Beatitudes, Jesus offers encouragement to those who suffer for His sake.  This Beatitude carries on the thought from the previous one, but this time Jesus makes it personal: not just “those who have been persecuted,” but “you when they revile you and persecute you.”

Verse 10
Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Verse 11
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you,
and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

Clearly Jesus expected His followers to be ill-treated, and He speaks of this ill-treatment in three ways: reviling them, persecuting them, and saying all kinds of evil against them.

Reviling comes when you are insulted or verbally abused because of your faith. The early Christians were mocked because of their belief in the Resurrection. They were called “atheists” because they denied the Roman deities and believed in a God the Roman government did not recognize. The Jews considered them heretics and blasphemers because they identified Jesus as God.

By persecuting I think we can understand Jesus to mean what usually comes to mind: physical abuse, and blatant singling out for “special treatment” on account of one’s faith. This may encompass the other two (reviling and speaking evil of someone), but I think it also brings in beatings, political pressure and punishment, social restriction, and so on. Whenever Christians are denied advancement—either politically, or in the workplace—on account of their faith, or are in other ways treated differently and adversely because they are Christians, persecution is taking place.

Say all kinds of evil against you falsely covers false accusations brought against a Christian to sully his or her reputation, often to justify persecution. In the early church, the Christian sacrament of communion was said to be an orgy, with the participants engaging in illicit sexual behavior and cannibalism. Whether or not this was a genuine misunderstanding of the Christian “love meal,” wherein the symbolic body and blood of Christ is consumed, or a deliberate distortion, it didn’t help the Christians gain favor in the world.

Not only are Christians blessed when they are persecuted, but they should, in fact, rejoice and be glad.  Why?  Because ‘your reward is great in heaven.’

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward [is] great in heaven;
for in the same way they persecuted the prophets [who were] before you.
Verse 12

Note that this is in the present tense.  This means that the heavenly reward that belongs to the ill-treated Christian is not some future hope, but it is a present reality.  Because the Christian is willing to suffer reviling, persecution, and character assassination for the sake of Jesus, he or she is blessed.  And what’s more, the Christian can–and should–rejoice and be glad in the face of such abuse, because God has already granted him or her a reward in heaven.  What is that reward?  Jesus doesn’t say.  But it should be enough to know that the Lord knows what we go through for His sake and, while He doesn’t promise to make life easier here, He does assure us that we already have something infinitely better waiting for us in eternity.

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Lord, we thank You for the reward that is awaiting the children that are being persecuted for Your name’s sake. We trust You in all things! In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.